US power demand seen hitting records through 2026

The power demand in the United States is reaching levels not experienced in the last two decades, and the forecast is that the demand will increase in 2025 and 2026. The unexpected rise in power demand throughout the US can be attributed to the advancements and growth taking place across several sectors, chief among those is the AI industry. The data and server farms are needed to operate the AI technology and require vast amounts of energy. Couple that with an increase in population, and we can understand why the US power sector is seeing record highs.

The Short-Term Energy Outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is looking promising

The EIA has reported that the demand for power in the US is on the rise and will exceed the previous record set in 2024. The United States saw flat demand for power for at least 20 years. However, the advancements in AI and large-scale consumers are demanding more power every year, which has led to the forecast expectations to reach a new high.

The previous record reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration came in 2024, with 4,097 billion kWh. The EIA has now come out to state that the forecast for this year will be more like 4,187 billion kilowatt-hours, while 2026 will most likely require 4,305 billion kWh. So no matter how you look at it, power demand in the US is reaching new and unprecedented levels.

The EIA’s initial expectations are being blown out of the water

The result of the growing demand from data centers and industrial customers means that energy usage in the US is only going to increase as time passes by. The EIA reported that these growth rates are higher than they predicted at the start of the year; its initial forecast predicted U.S. electricity generation would rise by an average of 1.5% in each of 2025 and 2026.

They now expect that total U.S. energy generation will increase by 2.3% in 2025 and a further 3.0% next year. The administration reported that this year’s colder-than-expected weather, along with the incorporation of load growth assessments by grid operators in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and PJM systems, is a major factor in the unexpected growth in the energy sector.

The investment bank, Goldman Sachs, has reported that U.S. electrical power demand is expected to rise by 2.4% each year through 2030, with the AI sector taking up nearly two-thirds of the incremental power demand in the country. The need for reliable energy has led to the Department of Energy extending the life span of several coal sites across the US. The need for energy reaches across the aisle, as many politicans on both sides have called for more renewable energy in the United States.

The sooner we get started with alternative energy sources and recognize that fossil fuels makes us less secure as a nation, and more dangerous as a planet, the better off we’ll be. – Lindsey Graham

Will the growth rate of the energy sector in the United States continue to grow

Yes, almost certainly. If the current rate of power demand continues, we can expect more energy records to be set in the US. The emergence of the electric vehicle has also meant that an increase in power demand was always going to be an eventuality. Couple that with the significant growth in the AI sector, which America is attempting to lead the world in, and the energy demands in the United States will only grow as time passes by. Nearly every American energy institution has bent the knee to meet the new executive orders aimed at increasing energy production across the nation. Demand will only increase if the current trend continues.